DJM 700 balance issues

Hey guys, I have just acquired a DJM 700 mixer and I am having difficulty incorporating it into my setup, and I am looking for some advice.

I have a Boss DR880 drum machine connected to one of the line inputs on the mixer, and I am running the output of the mixer to a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 audio interface. When the balance on the mixer is set to Mono and the balance knob is centred I can hear the drum machine but it is quite quiet. If I move the balance knob left or right the drum machine gets a lot louder. If I set the switch to Stereo and centre the knob, the drum machine doesn't sound right. I can't hear the kick or the bass properly and it sounds like there is a bit of reverb on it. It is like the left and right channels are conflicting with each other or something. When I pan left or right, the sound is fine on each channel, the problem is only when the balance is centred.

The Focusrite audio interface does not support RCA so I have two RCA-jack cables (each has a red and white RCA connector and a 0.63 jack on the other end), and I am connecting the white plug on one cable to the white socket on channel 4 (line) and the jack to a L input on the interface, and the red plug of the other to the red socket on channel 4 (line) and the jack to the R input on the interface. I understand that this should give me stereo sound over two channels, is that correct?

Does anyone know what is going on here? Does the problem lie in the way I have set the mixer up or is it a problem with the balance on the mixer itself? I hope the above makes sense.

Thank you in advance.

Steeps

Steeps May 10, 2015 05:50

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4 comments

It could be that when set to mono you're experiencing phase cancellation; the audio from L and R is conflicting and causing audio to "mute" to some degree. Running it on stereo would be the preferred setting, but if there is some other cancellation in the sound, maybe check the output settings from the BOSS?

One way to eliminate a possible problem with the mixer would be to test the input with another source (like an iPod or CD).

As for the Focusrite, if you're sending audio from that to the mixer, each input channel on the mixer (consisting or one red / one white connection) is one stereo pair. To have two stereo channels, you'd need to have 4 outputs (2 left, 2 right) to send to two channels of the mixer.

Pulse May 11, 2015 06:13 0 votes

Thanks for the advice Pulse, I will try connecting another device and see if it has the same problem.

Regarding the Focusrite, I'm sending audio from the mixer to the interface, not the other way round. Basically I have a Hammond organ, a Roland synth, and a guitar connected to the Focusrite inputs along with the mixer. I have my drum machine connected to the mixer as I want to apply the onboard effects on the DJM to the drum machine in a live setting. I can't connect the other instruments to the mixer as they do not have RCA output, just L&R 0.63 jacks.

The mixer has one RCA pair on Output 2 but the Focusrite doesn't support RCA. I have my RCA-jack adapters but there is only one red-white RCA output, so I can only connect to one 0.63 input. Does that make sense? My soundcard has two XLR inputs too; if I connected one XLR out on the mixer to one of those, and the other XLR output on the mixer to the other, would that give me stereo across the two channels?

I'm not very knowledgeable on these kind of connection issues so maybe there is a better way to set my gear up? All I want to do is play my drum machine through the mixer in stereo and apply the effects, and feed that into my Focusrite somehow.

Thank you again for your help, it is very much appreciated.

Steeps :)

Steeps May 12, 2015 02:06 0 votes

OK I connected an iPod to it and I'm having the same problem with the audio from that. Does this mean that it is a problem with the mixer itself? Any idea what the problem could be?

Thanks, Steeps

Steeps May 13, 2015 09:57 0 votes

@Steeps > You're best to have the devices connected directly to the Focusrite for the ability to capture each source as an independent channel within a recording software. To have effects on the drum machine, going through the DJM is a good option. Obviously having matched output and input cable types would be nice, but that's not always a luxury with the variety of devices we use! The important thing is to use the right kind of cable. For example, if you're using the DR880, you should be using a TS-to-RCA cable, not TRS-to-RCA; the difference being that TRS has an extra ring for stereo or balanced signal, and if the device it's connected to doesn't have a TRS jack, you could either get no signal or suffer other problems. My recommendation is to first be sure you're using the TS variety:

Same thing for the output from the mixer to the Focusrite - you should either use a balanced XLR-to-TRS cable, or an unbalanced RCA-to-TS cable.

If you're using the correct cables and still seem to have issues with the audio signal, it could be there is a fault with the signal path or balance and may need repair or replacement. Check the cables first and get back to me.

Pulse May 13, 2015 16:48 0 votes